One of the Bordevarian Archetypes

PLEASE NOTE: Master of the House is currently undergoing a rewrite and is no longer considered Canon. Feel free to use it as inspiration for your Character, but it is not currently considered an archetype within the game.

Overview

Noble Houses form one of three layers of social order within the Kingdom of Bordevar, alongside the Crown and the Peasantry. Noble Houses administer the land, organise the economy, control much military power and act as the recognition of merit within the Kingless Kingdom. Each house is headed by its ‘Master’. In some cases this the head of a family, in others it may be chosen from among their members or even more secret methods. Masters of the House rule with an autocratic power befitting the Kingless Kingdom. They carry the weight of their households glory and honour, in doing so they command its glory.

Need

A Band

To be a Master without a House is to be a Master in name only. While a Band is most appropriate, it is possible to play a very religious household and operate as a sect. These bands are referred to as ‘Houses’ in addition to their surname, such as ‘House Bordevar’ ‘House Rayleigh’ and ‘House Dondarrion’

Shouldn’t

Nil

Masters have a wide variety of skills and there is nothing that springs to mind that will preclude them from leading their house.

Costume Marker

House Ring

The tradition of a House Ring is a mixture of many different tendencies throughout Bordevarian noble culture. The holder of the ring is signified as the leader of the house, the ring acting as proof of their right to rule. In this the ring acts as a simulacrum of the crown, both bestowing upon its wielder and representing their authority.

House Rings are also commonly used as signet rings, their design is unique to each house. This allows them to be pressed into hot wax to verify documents and communications for both business and personal use.

Over time these aspects have raised the prominence of House Rings in social niceties. A Master may present their hand with the ring on it to someone they believe is below them in the social order, with the polite response being to press your forehead against it. House Rings are often enchanted to act as an even large boon for the wielder. But regardless of use, a House Ring is surely as great a representation of a House as its banner, crest or colours are, with mistreatment carrying the same weight.

History

There was a period in time when the presence of a noble class in Bordevar was not ensured. Following the betrayal of the Dukes in Drummon, King Artourious was entertaining the idea of only having the noble house of Bordevar, stripping all the loyalist nobles that had accompanied him of their titles. It is unclear what transpired in those early years of conquest, but by the time the Kingdom was fully realised, there were twenty ‘Crown Houses’ those being houses that were directly raised to nobility by the King. All noble houses in the present day trace their lines back to these twenty houses through the chain of who raised them up to nobility.

Since this time, noble houses and their masters have remained much the same, acting as extensions of The Crowns will, ruling over most of Bordevar and growing powerful. In some circumstances, Masters of various houses have attempted to seize power in the absence of The King, which in the past has been met with arrest if not assassination by numerous Royalist forces. But in the new era of The Concord and the Onyx Aristocracy, it is the House Masters that hold much of Bordevar together. Many look to them for the future of the Realm, be it behind a single name or a coalition of nobility.

There is no true social ranking within Noble Houses, they may have any title for their nobility (Provided it is not a royal title such as Prince or Queen), and the perception of power between them is fluid, based on wealth, martial strength, esteem and a great many other measures. But in general, Masters of The House are always seen as being people of respect, if not honour. Many Masters spend their hours attempting to keep a close eye on those they deem their rivals, as well as their betters.

3 Things Masters of the House are:

Double Edged Swords

Masters of the House carry the weight of a vast amount of Bordevars administration on their shoulders, the Kingdom is quite literally in their hands, as are its people. But at the same time, they are in staunch competition with each other to control power and grow their houses glory.

Glory in their Hands

It is expected that a Master of the House embody the will, ethos and goals of the House they lead. Their House members grant them the power they wield and they are expected to lead for the betterment of the house. But Bordevarians are a people that respect single-minded strength, it can be difficult to decipher where the betterment of the House ends and the betterment of the Master begins.

Ruthless Reagents

With their control over territory, hands in politics and wide scope, Masters have known for years that Bordevar is not some strange experiment in national identity and chivalry, it is a nation the same as any other. Masters tend to be more blood and guts realists (perhaps even cynics) than other Bordevarians.

1 thing Masters of the House aren't:

Corrupt Bureaucrats

While Masters of the House are political operators, invested with power and dangerous, they are not all corrupt monsters and power-hungry megalomaniacs. Rather each of them (and by extension, their houses) are their own beasts, with their own goals and motivations. They are also not creatures of papers and processes. Bordevar is a nation of heroes and Masters of Houses wield absolute power that has no need for a bloated bureaucracy.